Vehicle spring



Jan. 3, 1933. PQRTER 1,893,150

VEHICLE SPRING Filed March 20, 1931 INVENTOR Alf/barf .51 Paris! ATTORN EYS tion is to provide a spring of a Patented 3:, 1933 Application filed Illa-rel. 510, 1931.

The present invention pertains to a novel spring of a type providing a resilient flexible connection between an extension frame attached to the frame of a vehicle and an auxiliary axle of type employed to convert four wheel vehicle into one of the sir; wheel type for can ing heavier loads than are permitted on four wheel vehicles under statutory road protecting regulations a lthrough its application is not confined to this use alone for it would be equally ser iceable for the same pose with all types of trailing vehicle The primary object of the present inventype employed in the above stated use which supports the auxil n'y axle in a res lient man er tending to avoid transmitting road shocls to the vehicle frame and in manner avoiding the use of radius rods in the attachment of said auxiliary The spring is connected to the auz-ziiiary axle by means of a suitable and" as a shackle and the novelty in the present spring is in providing a plurality of connections to said shackle casting, one of said connections being in the nature of a floating attachment; while the other is rigid, the rigid connection serving as d In other words the spring a radius rod. serves as a radius rod for the ai "'liai*y axle and in so doing the spring is ut -ized to absorb the torsional stress set up when the vehicle is 'raveling out of a straight line, such as in turning a corner.

With the above and other ends in view the invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 a fragmentary side elevation of a road vehicle il ustrating the manner in which the present spring is employed to support the auxiliary aisle, and

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the present spring removed from the vehicle.

Like characters are employed throughout to designate the corresponding parts.

The numeral 1 indicates the frame of any conventional self-propelled vehicle having an extension frar. e 2 riveted or otherwise PATENT cl rics FIZJI GAN, ASSIGNOE TO THE TILIKEN-DETROIT DETROIT, MICHEGAN Serial 3T0. seen-is.

securely fastened t iereto. To the frame extension 2 are riveted two brackets 3 that support the auxiliary ax e springs l in oscillatory relation to the frame :2 and auxiliary axis 5. T he upper spring clip holding plates 6 carry shafts i", the ends of which are free to move up and down in elongated slots 8 in the brackets the spring clips 9 and the bottom plate 10 serving to co-act with the upper plate 6 in holding the spring leaves to 'ether.

Above the shafts '7' and resting thereon are pivoted plates 10 and between these plates under surface of the adjacent supbracket 3 are placed coiled compress on cushioning springs l 2 possessing shockstress-relieving characteristics that help to make the load ride easier and foregoing sets forth a construction which has seen incorporated in my previous patent application serial number 356,736 and the novelty in the present application pertains to the novel type of spring i and the remainder of the desorption is merely illustrative of its use.

The spring 4 has its bottom leaf shaped to form an opening 12 within which the spring shackle bolt 13 is free to move under torsional stress set up when the vehicle is traveling out of a straight line such as in turning corners. The leaf leiwhich lies directly above the leaf 11 is looped as at 15 to receive a shackle bolt which secures it to the auxiliary spring seat castings or brackets 16, one of which is rigidly secured to the auxiliary axle and the other being left free to turn thereon.

The alcove construct-ed springs provide stress relief through flexibility of attachment to the members 16 and the leaf 14 tires the place of the otherwise necessary radius rod, and therein resides the utility in the present device.

As a means of compensating for dimensional variations that would make hard or impossiole a satisfactory connection to the axle 5 the radius-rod leaf ll instead of merely being pierced as are the other leaves, to receive the clamping bolt- 21, is provided With a lengthwise slot 22 at bolt 21, so that upon loosening the clamp-b0lt and spring clip nuts the leaf 14 may be driven laterally in either direction, thus making possible an easy and quick connection to bracket 16. A recess 6' is provided in holding plate 6 for the head of the spring clamping bolt 21 and plate 10 is pierced by a hole 10 through which project the nuts on said spring clamping bolt. w

The remainder of the construction necessary in supporting the present spring might, as illustrated, take the form of the load distributing bifurcated floating links 17 connected by the shackles 18 to the opposite end of the leaf 11, the floating link being attached to the spring 19 which is in turn connected to the aXle 20 and to the vehicle frame Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described it is to be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction Without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claim, and such chan es are contemplated.

l/Vhat I claim is:

A spring comprising a plurality of leaves secured together by a clamping bolt, a centrally located lateral slot formed in the second leaf from thebottom through which said clamping bolt extends, said leaf being bent at its outer end to form an upwardly projecting loop, a bracket having a belt which passes through said loop and which is rotatably supported thereby, the lowermost leaf of said spring being bent downwardly to form a loop having its longer dimension disposed in a plane at an angle relative to the plane of said lowermost leaf, a second bolt carried in said bracket and received in said elongated loop in a manner whereby said lowermost leaf does not resist rotation of said bracket on said first named bolt that is received in said loop in the second leaf from the bottom of the spring.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GILBERT E. PORTER. 

